On August 12, 2026, Israeli forces arrested Palestinian freelance video journalist Mohammed Awad, a contributor to news wire Agence France-Presse (AFP) and independent news site Drop Site, from his home in the village of Beitunia, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to his wife Eman Shalash and news reports.
Shalash told CPJ via messaging app that he was blindfolded in the early hours of the morning and taken to an unknown location. Later, she found out he is being held in Ofer Prison, in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate and the International Federation of Journalists condemned his arrest, saying it was part of the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists reporting from the Israeli-occupied territory and calling for his immediate release.
CPJ’s email to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the whereabouts, conditions, and charges against Awad did not receive an immediate reply.